(CNN) - With little more than a month to go before Election Day, Democrats in the Rust Belt and elsewhere are latching onto a strategy they believe will help deflect voter criticism over the sluggish economy: accusing opponents of helping to outsource jobs.

At least 26 Democratic candidate or committee-sponsored ads about outsourcing have aired in hotly contested races since the beginning of September, according to a CNN count.

Earlier this month, the ads were focused in Rust Belt states such as Ohio, Indiana, Illinois and Pennsylvania. Now, however, they've made their way to the coasts, from California to South Carolina. Phrases such as "ship our jobs overseas," "sent jobs to China," and "outsourcing jobs" are now common refrains in closely contested districts and states nationwide.

"Democrats are still looking for a message," said Evan Tracey, head of the Campaign Media Analysis Group. "Their signature issue has been health care, and the fact is, they have passed a bill and lost the issue."

Potentially aiding the Democratic effort: Senate Republicans on Tuesday successfully blocked a bill from coming to the Senate floor that Democrats claim would help keep American jobs from going overseas.

soundoff(14 Responses)

stufit

And why do companies outsource. Because unions have driven wages so high, and their putrid stikes have bankrupted so many companies, outsourcing becomes a way to survive. And then who runs the DemocRAT liberal party, the unions. And which unions are now under investigation for corruption, (embezzelment, election fraud, bad book deals) while you have to check the hated Fox News to find that info, you won't get it from the liberal media. Do you want me to talk about the quality of union made products, ask the UAW members caught smoking dope and drinking on the job at the Jeep Cherokee plant and then check how many recalls the Jeep Cherokee has had. These are definitely Obamas people.

September 28, 2010 08:55 pm at 8:55 pm |

Dan

Hmmm helping to send jobs to China? Like Clinton signing the China Trade Bill when he was president? hhmmmm come on Democrats

Big high tech corporations like Intel, which have never had much union involvment, have been outsourcing what would have been high_paying jobs for DECADES, so you can't just blame outsourcing on the unions. You CAN, however, blame presidents Clinton & Bush for NAFTA, CAFTA, etc.

September 28, 2010 09:15 pm at 9:15 pm |

REG in AZ

Plain and simple, the truth is that the Republicans won’t ever solve the problems. There are those of us who would really like that to be different but the reality is that their ever solving, not just giving lip service and a lot of subterfuge to disguise and then rationalize, is impossible. Their focused and disciplined commitment is to their personal and political ambitions at any cost, which totally occupies them with being ‘puppets’ for Special Interests and the influential, powerful and extremely wealthy few who they feel support and enable them and who literally ‘pull their strings’. Their actions for the last ten years totally substantiate that and leave no doubt; they clearly demonstrated their unity in supporting all Bush-Cheney did in placating and patronizing Special Interests and the select few while giving the people only apathy, the costs and an abundance of subterfuge, and since, in again being irresponsible and arrogant in withholding any cooperation and instead faulting and obstructing everything to ultimately be serving only Special Interests and the few. They are tied into and dependent on those who ‘pull their strings’ and who ‘call the shots’ and who even pick the candidates (by their ‘puppet’ qualities instead of by their qualifications). The Republican Party has been totally consistent and the resulting frustrating futility and the significant cost for the average American has been totally obvious to anyone who can just avoid being swayed, manipulated and conned.

There are those who claim to be ultra-conservatives and who greatly benefit from putting their substantial power, influence and money into controlling the Republicans’, both Tea Party and regular. The resources they make available, both overt and covert, and the commitment they demand really make it impossible for the Republicans to deviate. The creative subterfuge and the organized, sponsored and extensive efforts they undertake to sway, manipulate and con public opinion are impressively offensive. John Dean (a self-proclaimed Goldwater conservative and past member of Nixon’s staff), in his book “Broken Government”, recognized the extent of the cancer when he said that the Republicans “with their current mentality were simply incapable of responsibly governing”. All we have to do is look at recent history to see where the majority, including the total middle-class, consistently looses ground as only the very wealthy gain under Republican control. It is a shame but unless we recognize reality and actually become offended by the insult of the constant deception and of being taken for granted and then totally reject them, we could be returned to ‘more of the same’ which just favors the few and caused all of the problems. That is what everything they say/do is attempting to accomplish, whether Tea Party or regular, a return to ‘more of the same’, where once more there would be the subterfuge to maintain the status all over again.

September 28, 2010 09:19 pm at 9:19 pm |

Mike

All the money Corporate America saves in outsourcing American jobs to other countries, goes directly to Corporate profits. Corporate Executives get higher bonuses from higher profits. Americans loose their jobs, homes, cars, and health insurence, so a Corporate Exectutive gets a larger bonus. According to CNN, Republicans would not let a bill that would stop this go to the Senate floor for a vote. Are the republicans political leaders of America, or another country. I believe perhaps the political leaders that would not want to stop such a practice, should not be political leaders anymore. I believe WE THE PEOPLE can do something about this.

September 28, 2010 09:28 pm at 9:28 pm |

Sniffit

One can only hope that being ready with ads after another GOPer "NO" vote to an anti-outsourcing bill means that the Dems are already prepared with ads for after (hopefully tomorrow's) GOPer "NO" vote on extending tax cuts to the middle-class.

DeMint and Coburn already tipped their hands as to how much that possibility scares the GOP's manpampers to bursting.

September 28, 2010 09:40 pm at 9:40 pm |

Dave

Vote on taxes first, before criticizing the minority party!

September 28, 2010 09:47 pm at 9:47 pm |

michaelam

Please include the latest GOBP’s stunt to block a Democratic bill that would have penalized corporations for outsourcing jobs. Not only did the GOBP say NO! to this bill, they also said NO! to the American family and middle-class. Please remember the GOBP is all about profits, gains, corporations, and the rich! They hate American and the American people.

September 28, 2010 10:00 pm at 10:00 pm |

D. Bunker

This is THE issue that the billionaires like the Koch brothers want to hide by financing the teatard distracdtion. This is where the grass roots of the right and left should be joining hands and working together. I'd be happy to give tax breaks to companies, but only those that bring jobs BACK to the US. Anyone wanna join me?

September 28, 2010 10:33 pm at 10:33 pm |

g

blame no one but the american people for letting this happen. Republicans dont care about the american people just their pockets and corperations, and kick backs. unions are the only thing helping keeping some companies from just packing and leaving. its funny how some people are just blinded and think glen beck is some one to listen to regaurding politics, hes just a brain washing machine for the dumb american who cant think for him self.

September 28, 2010 10:46 pm at 10:46 pm |

ron

Don't blame the unions, blame greed, they outsource jobs in the south and it's like 5 percent union, GOP plan send jobs to China, send crap back to America, greed and GOP wins.

September 28, 2010 08:29 pm at 8:29 pm |

ron

Eight million jobs sent overseas during the Bush tax cuts, and the GOP wants them extended, shameful.

September 28, 2010 08:42 pm at 8:42 pm |

rs

Yup- the Republican way to a better economy- ship all the jobs overseas. Anyone see a problem with that? And, don't blame the unions for this- Reagan began to destroy the unions (the only thing that protects the working men and women in America), and ithas gone on ever since. Anyone afraid of unions is a political ninny.

September 28, 2010 08:45 pm at 8:45 pm |

8 Years of having a drunken driver at the wheel put America in the ditch, why would working Americans return the keys to the crowd drinking at the same bar?

Of course, the party of NO will vote NO against closing the loophole for outsourcing jobs to India, why pay an American a living wage when some 24 year old in India will do it for 40 bucks a day.

And I love how the deficit hawks want to increase it by 700 billion over 10 years so the those over 250K can keep an extra 3%

But then, these same "new age" deficit hawks stood quietly by while the shrub gave the tax cuts and added 3.5 TRILLION dollars to the deficit over 10 years, when the shrub should have been RAISING taxes to pay for the two wars the Reds started..